H is four months old today.  And to mark the day, we got our first snow flurries of the season.  It’s hard to believe that H has been with us for a third of a year already.  In many ways it feels like he has been part of our family forever.  And in other ways, it feels like he just got here yesterday and he has grown up so fast.  I was just looking at pictures of him last night, from when he was just a few weeks old.  He looked so different then, and there were only hints of his personality that would come through the otherwise constant eating and sleeping.  I just really can’t believe that he looked like this only four short months ago:

And now looks like this:

He is getting more coordinated and aware of his surroundings every day.  He is starting to take an interest in what I am eating, although he is not at all ready for solids in my opinion.  But he does love to watch me eat and look at my food.  When we stand him up, he is starting to shuffle his little feet forward instead of remaining stationary.  And when he is in his jumper, he can control his movements more and more.  When he wants to stop jumping, he knows he can stiffen his legs and come to an abrupt halt.  He is even getting mobile in his crib.  Often when I go to pick him up, I find he has turned his body completely in reverse, so that his head is where his feet were when I first put him to bed.  We’ve started bathing him in the sink, but he feels uneasy in the water.  We try to make him feel comfortable, but I believe it will take several more baths before he feels comfortable sitting in the water.  He is still used to the sponge baths he got for the first four months!  H has his four month check-up next week, so we shall see how much growing he has done.  He has grown out of almost all of his diaper covers already—I see a trip to Sprout in our future!  Most of the covers are tight around the leg gussets where he appears to be storing most of his fat.  His thighs are certainly the biggest thing on him.  I jokingly refer to him as “thunder thighs” or “my full-figured infant.”  I never imagined that cellulite could be so cute.

As the air gets more crisp and we head towards winter, H continues to grow and amaze us each day.  He’s getting better with soothing himself to sleep and going down for his naps.  I always put him to bed while he’s still awake so that he can get used to going to bed on his own.  He does reasonably well for a baby who is still under 4 months old.  I have no right to complain about this child ever.  He is too good to us.  We even took him to a restaurant/lounge on Friday to celebrate Rob’s recent job change and my successful interview.  We sat in the lounge area and had a couple cocktails.  H was perfectly behaved and didn’t make a peep.  He fell asleep in my lap and dozed while we chatted with our friends.  I never imagined that I would still be able to do these sorts of things with such a small infant.  I know that once he reaches toddlerhood, things will have to change though.

We’ve had a pretty action-packed schedule over the past week.  We had two coffee playdates with other mommas around town, and took several leisurely walks to take in the fresh air and colors.  I have to say that this has been the most vibrant year for us in terms of fall colors.  When we move, I’m really going to miss the scenery.  Here is the view we have across the street from our house:

We are lucky to live in such an amazing place.  The lake is just brilliant when it’s framed with all of the colorful leaves.  I’m going to be sad when it’s too cold to take H on these long walks by the lake.  

In other news, H’s duck costume arrived!  Here he is proudly modeling his new attire:

H still doesn’t enjoy tummy time very much.  Here he is, tolerating it and wishing I would scoop him up:

H has also recently joined us at the kitchen table!  Although he won’t be eating solids for another 2 months, he likes to participate in meal time by sitting with us at the table.  Here he is, enjoying his newfound autonomy:

And finally, I have to comment on my haircut from last week.  It was FANCY.  I was offered tea, coffee, or water like 10 times.  The “salon experience” commenced with a neck and shoulder massage, followed by a vigorous scalp massage.  Then came the haircutting and painstaking sculpting styling of my hair.  My hair has actually been falling out in large clumps since H was about 2 months old, which is an effect of low estrogen levels due to breastfeeding.  So the stylist’s task was to work with what is left of my hair.  I had a lot of hair to begin with, so it’s actually not terribly thin even after all the shedding.  I was pretty happy with the results:

I also have been making more of an effort (now that H is a little older and I have more control over these things) to clean up my appearance.  I’ve spent much of the past 4 months in my pajamas and in bed with H.  I only really exercised religiously for about 2 weeks before I had to start working on my manuscript in earnest and I ended up having to sacrifice the exercise to make time.  So I’m STILL in maternity clothes for the most part.  I’ve been feeling not very put-together.  And I know that (as silly as it is) one of the keys to feeling confident that I can get this new job is to get out of those pjs and start cleaning myself up a bit.  Yes, I still get spit up on and pooped on, but sometimes putting on a bit of lipstick and at least styling my hair has me feeling like I belong to the rest of the adult world again.  I will get back on the exercise again soon, I’ve promised myself, once this manuscript is out of my hands (which should be within the next 24 hours!)  And of course, having my eye feel better has made a world of difference in how I feel.

Part of this little mini-mental health kick I’ve been on this past week included scheduling a date time for Rob and myself.  We paid Uncle Steve to come stay with H for 2 hours while we went out to dinner at Three Tomatoes.  I was super happy because I was actually able to fit into a pair of regular pants for our dinner date.  After dinner, they were a little snug, but that’s OK.  It was worth it.  H was a good baby for his Uncle Steve.  And Uncle Steve was the sweetest, and at first refused payment for his time.  But I insisted, saying that just because he’s a college student doesn’t mean we are going to exploit him!  Uncle Steve has also agreed to watch H next week while I go to the dentist.  H has traditionally been very good during all of my many eye doctor appointments, but I don’t think he can last through an entire dental cleaning.  Those tend to be more involved than getting the old eyes checked.  

The next week promises to be just as packed with activities as last week.  Now that our garden is over for the season, the constant stress of figuring out a time to tend to the garden has lifted.  We are gearing up for the colder weather and the changes that accompany it—and there certainly seem to be some big changes looming on the horizon for us.